Arc-light hanger-board



n e h S m e e .h s 2 HL H G I ,R W ml R A C J.. YD. n. d o M o m ARGLIGHT I ILANGFBR BOARD.

No. 530,882.. Patented Deo. 11, 1894.

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ARG LIGHT HANGER BOARD.

which is clearly shown in the drawings NITED STATI-:sf

PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID J. CARTWRIGHT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARC-LIGHT HANGER-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 530,882, dated December11, 1894. Application' tied January 26.1894. sanita-198,102. (Numan.)

sachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inArc-Light Hanger- Boards, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a view in perspective of anarc-light hangerboard having my invention applied thereto.,

Fig. 2 is a view in plan showing the upper side of the saidhanger-board. Fig. 3 yis a View in plan of part of a hanger-board havingapplied thereto a modification of my invention. Fig. 4 is a View incross-section on line 4-4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showingcertain details of construction.

The hanger-board shown in the drawings is formed in halves or sections1,Y 1,1and the hole 2 through which the upper part or chimney of thelamp projects when the hangerboard is applied to practical use .isformed partly in one and partly in the other of the proximate ormeeting-ends of the said halves or sections, each of theV saidmeeting-ends having made therein the semi-circular recess To the underside of each of the halves or sections 1, 1 is applied the hanger 3having, on the side thereof which is toward the hole 2, an arm provided,in the surface thereof that' rests against the surface of thecorresponding half or section l, with a transverse groove or notch toreceive the cross-bar ofthe eye or loop that is formed in the upper endof the corresponding link or rod 4, so as thereby to suspend the saidlink or rod, the latter having a similar loop or eye at the lower endthereof, as shown in Fig. 1, and as usual in practice, to provide forthe connection of the lamp therewith.v The said hanger and links or rodsmay be of any desired and suitable or known character and construction.The halves or sections 1,1, are connected together bydevices of acharacter which permit them to be seperated more or less when desired,thereby rendering the hanger-board variable or adjustable in length andenabling the hangers 3, 3 thereof to be set or adjusted at the distanceapart from eachother which may vbe necessary in order to suit theparticular lamp that it is wished to apply thereto. This capacityV forvariation for adjustment of the length of the hanger-board enables thesame to be used `for the suspension of lamps in which the devices thatengage' with the rods or links 4, 4 are at various distances apart. Thepreferred means of` connecting the halves or sections 1, 1, togetherwith capacity for adjustment as aforesaid consists of the two strips5,'5, of suitable material, see Fig. 2,v these strips having formedtherein holes 6, 6 for the passage ofthe stems of the screws 7, 7, bymeans of which they are clamped to the respective halves or sections.Usually in practice each strip is engaged by four screws 7, 7, two ofwhich also engage With one of the halves or sections while the other twothereof also engage with the other of such halves or sections. Eachstrip has formed therein also a number of additional holes asrepresented in Fig. 2, so as to enable the halves or sections to be setat any desired distanceV apart within the range or limits of theadjustability provided for. lIn practice, the holes are so set as tomake the steps of the adjustment about one inch each. Usually in theembodiment of the invention which is represented in the drawings,-theapproximate ends of the halves or sections 1, 1, may be yseparated fromeach other either one or two inches as desired. 4

In Figs. 3 and 4 a construction is shown in whichthe adj ustability isnot limited to steps of one or more inches each, but wherein the partsmay be adjusted to any extent greater or less than an inch, within therange or limit of the adjustability. In this construction there areemployed a single rod or wire bent into U- shape as shown with its twoparts 8, 8, parallel and close together, or two parallel rods or wires,clips 9, 9, lying upon the parts 8,8, and screws 10, 10 passing throughthe halves or sections 1, 1, between the parts 8, 8, and engaging withthe clips 9, 9. See particularly Fig. 4:. In this construction, byloosening the screws 10, 10 the parts 8, 8 may be slid lengthwise underthe clips 9,9 in a manner to adjust the halves or sections relatively toeach other as desired.

By having the halves or sections movable or adjustable relatively toeach other, they may be relatively shifted as much as may benecessary inorder to find a firm and solid backing in the ceiling or other supportfor the reception of the securing screws of each of such halves orsections. This obviates the necessity which has existed heretofore forshifting the entire board until a firm backing is found for all itssecuring screws.

Hanger-boards heretofore usually have been made of wood, and fires havefrequently resulted fromthe ignition thereof asa result of sparking, andfrom making a ground connection in consequence of the pressure ofmoisture, and other causes, as defective switches. By preference, I formthe hanger-board'of porcelain or other incombustible and waterproofmaterial, and thereby obviate all liability whatever to fire.

In order to provide for effectively ventilating between the hanger boardand the support to which it is attached, I form ledges 11, 11, at eachside-edge of the halves or sections, as shown, thereby producing adepression or space 12 between the said ledges through which air is freeto circulate after the hanger-board has been affixed to its support.rlhis guards against the condensation and deposition of moisture at theback of the hangerboard, and the short eircuiting which in some casesresults therefrom.

The securing devices which have been described above with reference toFigs. 2, 3 and 4, preferably are applied to the upper side or back ofthe hanger-board in positions closely adjacent to the ledges 11, 11. Inthe case of the modification which is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, each clip9 is straight at the end thereof next the adjacent ledge 11 and the saidend abuts the proximate vertical side of the ledge. The said verticalside prevents the escape laterally of the corresponding part or rod Sfrom under the said straight edge of the clip. The other end of the cliphowever is curved downwardly as shown in Fig. 4f, to insure theretention of the other part or rod S. The holes 12, 12 through which areintended to be passed the screws or bolts by which the hangenboard issecured toits support are formed at the edges thereof and through theledges 11, 11. The holes for the screws which secure to the hangerboardthe various devices which are applied to the latter are formed in theportions of the hanger board which extend from side to side between thesaid ledges. The screws which serve for the attachment of the devicesthat are applied to the under side or face of a hanger-board preferablyare introduced from the back of the hanger-board, so as that all will beaccessible from the said back. See Fig. 2. The screws 7 and 9, however,which secure the strips 5 and rods or parts S to the back of thehanger-board are introduced from the face of the latter. As a matter ofconvenience, the two halves or sections 1, 1, are formed exactly alikeand from the same mold or pattern, so that they are reversible, andeither of thein may be applied in the place of the other as clearlyindicated. rlhis saves making halves or sections of two differentpatterns. The screws 13, 18 of each half or section serve for theattachment of the corresponding hanger 3 thereto. The screws 11i, lltserve for the attachment to one of the halves or sections 1 of thehanger 15 to which is pivoted the switchlever 1G. The screws 17, 17serve for the attach ment to the latter half or section of the hanger 1Swhich is provided with the converging springs 19, 19 that contact withthe said switch lever lti. The feed-wires (not shown) pass through theholes 20, 20, that are formed through the hangers 3, 3, and are engagedby binding screws 21,21, whose points enter the said holes 20, 20.

At 22 is a wire having one end thereof clamped between the upperendofthe hanger 15 and the proximate surface of the half orsection of thehangcrboard to which the hanger 15 is secured, and the other end thereofclamped to an arm of the adjacent hanger 3, by a washer 23, and abinding-screw 2i.

At 25 is a wire having one end thercofheld to an arm of the hanger 3 onthe other section or half 1 by means of a washer' 25 and binding screw26, and the other end thereof applied to an adjacent screw 7.

At 25 is a wire having one end thereof held to an arm of the hanger 18of the first half or section 1 by means of a washer 27 and binding-screw28, and the other end thereof applied to an adjacent screw 7.Communication thus is established between the left-hand hanger 3 and thehanger 18 by means of the wires 25, 25', the screws 7, 7, to which theirends are applied, and the strip 5 which is ongaged by the said screws,and in making adjustment of the halves or sections 1, 1, no change inthe wires 25 25', is required.

The switch-lever 16 shown in Fig. 1 differs from the usual switch leveremployed on hanger-boards in that whereas the latter merely is slippedtransversely or horizontally onto or off from a suitable contact, inorder to make or break the circuit between the respective hangers 3, 3,the said switch-lever 16 moves vertically or at right angles to thesurface of the hanger-board and enters between the free ends of twoconverging spring blades or plates 19, 19 which latter clasp its sidesclosely and insure perfect contact notwithstanding the presence of dustor other foreign substance on the parts.

The usual form of switch not only is liable to work imperfect] y byfailing to establish proper electrical communication, but it isinconvenient and difficult to shift the same from one to the otherposition thereof after the hanger board has been applied in the locationin which it is sed. Arranging the switch lever 16 as shown in thedrawings, so as to work up and down vertically renders it moreconvenient to shift the same. I render it easier still to work the saidswitch lever by combining therewith aplunger 29 IOO IIO

which is acted upon by a spring 30, the said plunger and spring beingcontained within the hanger 15, which latter is made hollow as indicatedin Fig. 5, the head of the said plunger bearing upon the rounded head ofthe switch lever. When the switch is closed the said head of the plungeracts upon the said heel slightly to the rear of the pivot of the switchlever so as to tend to hold the switch leverin the closed position. Whenthe switchlever is thrown into the open position indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 5, the head of the plunger by entering the depression inthe end of the switch lever serves to retain it in the said dotted lineposition. In addition, the action of the plunger upon the heel of theswitch lever serves to complete the movement of the switch lever in eachdirection as will be obvious,so that it is necessary in operating thesaid switch to move it only until the rounded apex of thel heel has beencarried past the head of the plunger, when the action of the latter willassist and complete the movement of the switch-lever in the desireddirection.

The switch-lever shown in the drawings and j ust described isparticularly well adapted to be reached from below, to shiftit from oneto the other of its positions, after/the hangerboard has been secured inthe desired location, thereby rendering it unnecessaryto ascend a ladderor the like in order to reach the same. .f

I claim as my invention- 1. An arc-light hanger-board constructed insections having hangers for the suspension of an electric lamprespectively attached thereto, and provided with means for securing thesaid sections at dieren't distances apart, substantially as described.

2. An arc-lightI hanger-board constructed inl sections having hangersfor the suspension of an electric lamp respectively attached thereto,rods or strips for unitingthe said sections with each other, and meansfor adjustably securing the said rods or strips to the said sections,substantially as described.

3. The combination with an arc-light hanger-board provided with hangers,and converging contact springs in electrical connection with one of saidhangers, ot a switchleve-r in electrical connection with the other ofsaid hangers and arranged to swing vertically with relation to the saidhanger-board, and the spring-actuated plunger, co-acting with the heelofthe said switch-lever to com- -plete the movement thereof in eitherdirec-

